Defining moments: They come in a swoosh of time!

He shoots...

HE SCORES!!!

Now, that was a defining moment in our son, Caleb's, life!

Sure, the other team players shoot and score and it's no big deal because they've been playing for years on a team and they play as though the game is all about them (they only pass the ball to someone they know or are sure they might score...this isn't a criticism, just the way it is at this level, especially if the coach isn't interested in anything other than winning.)

But for Caleb, he told us the ONE thing he wanted more than anything was to be able to score! He put his faith to work and got out there and scored!!!

Now, Isaac had his moment, as well.  He has sat on the sidelines most of every game because of fear and because he says basketball isn't 'his' thing.  But this was the last game.  And despite the coach not taking a risk and giving him much time on the court, he did go out for about five minutes and he did assist a guy in scoring.  That thrilled him as well, but not enough for him to ever want to play the game again.  At least not on a team.

These two young men are marvelous and wonderfully made.  Each has his strengths and weaknesses, as we all do.  My job description is to keep looking heavenward, standing in the place of prayer for them and cheering them on with words of Life and kindness that encourage them to press forward.

This morning was a perfect example.  It was time for me to give a spelling test to one of them and I specifically said I wanted the words "Unit 4, Test" written on the top line with the date in the corner.  Well, he began an elaborate drawing of the letters in block form...(which is really no big deal, but the lesson he needed to learn was submission.)  When I repeated that I didn't want 'those' kinds of letters, but just plain letters, he began to get offended and everything unraveled for him...his countenance changed, his attitude began to get hard! I, on the other hand, immediately saw this opportunity as a teachable moment. 

We'd just read two days ago about how Jesus did what the Father told him to do and said what the Father wanted him to, the WAY HE WANTED HIM TO SAY IT ! John 12: 44-50

⁴⁴ Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. ⁴⁵ For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. ⁴⁷ I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. ⁴⁸ But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.⁴⁹  I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.⁵⁰ And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

It was an anointed moment to explain that he was under authority and that if his Savior, who is our example, could submit to His Father's will by obediently submitting his will for us (him) all the way to the cross, then he nor I have any excuses not to submit and that I was the parent, not him and he had to obey my authority because God gave me that authority for his good.  I reminded him that perhaps writing his letters a certain way isn't a big deal, but what is a big deal is his response to my authority.  That mattered more to God than spelling and that, fortunately for him, I love him.  Someday, I told him, he'd have at least one boss that won't care whether he lives or dies.  Because I love him, I'm persevering to train him to obey God in order that when he does have an ungodly boss, that no matter what he tells him to do or how he treats him, because he's learned submission, obedience and trust in God, he will be able to be a blessing to that man/woman and God will honor him.

HE GOT IT!  I mean he really got it. 

When that happens, words cannot describe the joy a mother feels when she sacrifices her days for the next generation. 
It's in those moments that I remember the WHY of home education.  And it's also a reminder of how important it is for me to be abiding in His love and praying for each one of my five children.  Each one is in their own game! 

...one never knows when a teachable moment will happen...

Moms, we must be ready to be poured out. 

Are you aiming your children toward the bullseye? 

Are your thoughts about your children being renewed or are you missing the shot? 

This game is too short, don't waste any shots you're given!

My movie makers/pajama men...

Once again, they've made me laugh and used their 'imaganation'...as put in the credits!
...Enjoy!


I had no idea they left the house in their p.j.'s!  Thankfully, this was on a Sat. morn and they only went around the corner to the church playground! 
Boys, twin boys..one just never knows what they'll do!
(We definitely have to work on spelling!!!)

My Twinners~

Words aren't enough sometimes to describe how much I love these two boys.  How they, in their own way, crack me up and stretch me beyond what I would have imagined!
Two nights ago, I went in to kiss them goodnite and since I hadn't seen them go outside to put the hens up, I asked if they'd done that...Isaac was already asleep, but Caleb sat up and mumbled something I did not understand.  So, I asked him again, thinking he was dreaming and didn't hear me...he then turned towards me and in the gruffest tone of voice I'd ever heard, he said something (which I could not interpret)....so I asked him one more time and he said, in a very very gruff-like voice and even louder, 'YES I DID, DO I NEED TO SAY IT AGAIN?'  I couldn't stop giggling because he sounded like a bear growling at me!  And the funniest thing is that he was asleep when he said it, or at least half asleep!
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I've told them that we're going to walk at 6:45-7 every morning and everyday up until today, I've gone in to remind them.  Today, Daddy told me to begin with 'reality consequences' for their choices to give them the opportunity to grow up and own their education, etc, and so when I went in their today, I said I was leaving in 'five' and that they could decide to go or stay, but I also reminded them that there were consequences to every choice they made and that they really wouldn't like the consequences of their choice if they stayed in bed...one twin began giving me all the reasons why he wanted to stay in bed and guess what I did?  I walked out of the room to get my shoes and he understood I wasn't going to change my mind...they were ready when I left and we had a good talk about choices, consequences, and law!  I reminded them that there is NO law for us when we choose to do things God's way!

The other twin, sitting at his desk a while ago, doing math, says, 'Mom, this is our sin...and this is what Jesus does to it...' He'd taken a CD cover, a dry erase marker and completely colored the plastic part of the disc and then took the eraser and cleaned it off!  "Get back to Math, dear!  That's very true and I agree with you, but it's distracting you from completing your work!"  Sigh and giggle under my breath!!!

Then there are those moments when it's all I can do but take a deep breath and NOT open my mouth and just wait...wait for them to get the hint that their actions are either wrong or they need to be quiet and listen to my words...
Oh, yes...the times, and oh how many, when they just HAVE to tell me something when they should be quietly working!  I told twin A that he is a slave to his thoughts if he doesn't control what he lets out of his mouth as a result of not controlling what he's thinking about...and that he has control of his mind, because Jesus has given him the power to take his thoughts captive in obedience to the Word...

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The other morning I woke up from a nightmare in which both twins and their little friend, Jordan, were in life jackets and yet one of the twins was drowning and so was Jordan, and the other twin was trying to save both of them and he, too, was drowning in the ocean...and I was screaming for someone to jump in and help them...I woke with such a jolt and rebuked the dream and continued to take those thoughts captive to the Truth, but then I asked Daddy about it.  He reminded me that training is vital to survival as well as in helping others.  I thought about the Boy Scouts and the training boys get in survival skills as well as the military constantly training before they actually have to use their skills. 
Those kinds of dreams, although very vivid and disturbing, only serve to remind me how important it is for me to stay focused on 'eating His words for myself first and listening carefully to them' (Ezek. 3:10) and THEN to tell them the words of the Lord...and to take seriously my task today...

...for one day, they, too, will fly away!  But for today, I will hold them close to my heart and treasure these moments!

I called, He answered!

Well, after an entire summer of seeking, listening, and crying out, He answered.

I am excited for His answer.

Excited to be able to come alongside these two amazing young men and assist them in their journey to adulthood.

They're here, we're together and God is on His throne! 

Last nite, Love and I sat on the couch, after everyone was in bed, discussing the 'why' behind this year's 'at home adventure' and we both agree that for them to succeed, we need to continue grounding them in Truth.  Then we brought our hearts before His heart and laid this year at His feet. 

It's going to be a great adventure.

A repost for obvious reasons...

I posted this on my Freedom blog, but it's worth posting here because of the bravery of my son...enjoy!

There are times when, as a woman approaching her fifties, I sense that time is running short to do all the 'fun' things that should be done before I hit the pearly gates!
So, today, I was persuaded to bike ride with twin twelve, soon to be thirteen year old, boys...and mind you, bike riding should be something that's done daily, at least that's what Caleb thinks, and I told him we could do that...

It all began when Isaac came to me and with a Middle Eastern accent, told me that they'd filled my tire (and not blew it up!) and wanted me to take a spin with them...and holding my hand, he drew me away from a letter I was writing...(sometimes these two just amaze me with their wooing skills!)
I told dad I was going to take a ride with the boys to which he responded, "You should take a ride with the boys! Do you have a horn or can you say honk, honk?" I honked and he gave his approval...off we went! (He's been in a really goofy mood lately, very witty and just a hoot!)

Coming around the corner of a street named, 'Anaconda' (that should have been my first clue), a dog came running out of a house when a woman opened her door and a man carrying his little girl walked in. Immediately the dog began barking at us as we rode by and I heard the woman yell the dog's name, but she didn't seem to care and closed her door.
The dog kept pace with us, barking, hair raised on its back and would wander into a front yard and then come back barking...I thought to myself, 'all bark, no bite' just as this dog came into the street and BIT ME!
Immediately, Caleb dropped his bike and went after the dog! I mean literally went for the dog...I was concerned he'd get bit, but instead the dog wandered back into a yard. With great aim, Caleb took off his helmet and threw it at him, hitting the thing square in its back (broke his helmet!!!)! The dog began whimpering, and wandered back toward it's house, which is where I was also headed!

I felt so honored by my son's chivalry that I'd do it all over again just to see the man in him rise up to protect his mother! That's my boy~

This was a big dog, not a little yipey thing, either! I knocked on the woman's door and when I told her, she asked if I was ok, and I told her, "NO, your dog just bit me!" She apologized profusely, but I told her to keep her dog in her yard...I was too overcome to even think of saying all the things I'd thought of on my way to her house!!!! That was a good thing. One never knows if maybe one is going to the same church or worse...I see her in a situation where she'd need ministry and I was the ranting woman she'd had at her front door!!!

Well, my nerves have somewhat settled and I checked my leg...no open flesh! But I just drove to get the address and when I made a report so no one else gets bitten, the man said she'll get between two and six tickets! Wow! Very painful lesson!

Who would have thought that today would have turned out like it has so far? Yet, I did what I set out to do: GET MY HEART RATE UP!

Have a great weekend. Won't be around again until after we get back from the Coast...with tons of pictures, too!!!

A mother's confession...

She daily sits in her wheelchair, a blank stare on her face, gazing out the picture window at birds splashing and gulping water from an aluminum pan he fills every morning...this pan satisfies two needs: their thirst and her desire to connect with the outside world .
So I sit at the table, attempting to strike up a conversation and connect with her...I do try, but despite my best efforts, there's nothing there. Oh, once and a while she'll bring up something from her past or the usual, 'Have you talked to____________', to which I repeat what I've told her previously.

The temperature has been so hot that she cannot go out during the day and so she sits...and stares. Sometimes the silence is so loud it hurts my ears. Other times I wrestle with guilt for not knowing my mother or 'working hard enough' to know her. This is the woman that gave me birth, raised me, took me to all the various lessons parents take kids in order for them to 'become' something amazing when they grow up.
But she also taught me things I wish I'd never learned. She didn't intentionally teach me those things...I don't believe any mother wants to teach her children to be manipulative, angry, bossy, pushy, self-centered...every mom I know does her best to teach her children to respect others, love the unlovely and work hard. Yet, left unchecked and not intentionally worked on, the former are 'qualities' kids become experts at...I'm no exception.

 I wiped the tears off my cheeks today as I listened to spoken words that stung my heart, brought conviction as well as healing about my role as mother. Sometimes the truth does sting, but it's medicine that brings health.

We are nurturers, right? But when does nurturing turn to smothering? At what age do we, as moms, stop telling and begin suggesting things to our boys? When do we let the circumstances of our children's life awaken them to pain that will forge character to develop or do we continue to circumvent their pain because it hurts us to see them suffer?
These were the questions that ran through my mind today...I've been guilty and now that I've been made aware of my behavior, I know there are eternal changes coming...

As I've been praying for answers to the 'do we homeschool this year' or 'do we do something different' question, I've been reminded, once again, that these young warriors He's blessed me to love and care for ARE NOT MINE. I don't own them or their future...and Daddy has been working daily to show me how to stop micromanaging them and begin to allow them to grow up.

We're all growing up!
until next time...

Where has this school year gone?

I ask myself how time could have flown by so quickly just when I was making plans for their education...but it has! 

Because I tend to analyze everything to death, I've decided it's healthier to take this year's experiences to Him, dropping my failures, inadequacies and struggles at His feet and pressing on to what lies ahead!  Learning always seems to take place, whether I plan it or not.  It's not so much whether they're learning at a desk or we're out and about; they're always learning something.  May it be His paths, not mine.

Yesterday was zoo day again.  For some reason, we never tire of the sights and horrid smells of animals from all over the world...and the boys don't seem to mind waiting around for me to click just 'one more picture'!

It's been a challenging year for me and the boys with all the changes, particularly with having a 'quiet' place to do Math...even with a sign posted for my daddy!  But it, too, is just a season.

Isn't this just how it is with children?  They're in our face...and we love it!

How was your year?  Did you accomplish everything you set out to do?  What challenges did you face and how did you deal with them? 

Just curious.

Until next time...